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Patent 2730207 Summary

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Claims and Abstract availability

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  • At the time of issue of the patent (grant).
(12) Patent: (11) CA 2730207
(54) English Title: SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR WEB-BASED CONTROL OF DESKTOP APPLICATIONS
(54) French Title: SYSTEME ET PROCEDES DE COMMANDE PAR LE WEB D'APPLICATIONS BUREAUTIQUES
Status: Granted
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • G06F 17/24 (2006.01)
  • G06F 9/44 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • NORDINE, TROY DOUGLAS (United States of America)
  • MATZEK, BART (United States of America)
  • DAUK, RICHARD N. (United States of America)
  • PARHAR, ANUDEEP (United States of America)
(73) Owners :
  • THOMSON REUTERS ENTERPRISE CENTRE GMBH (Switzerland)
(71) Applicants :
(74) Agent: SMART & BIGGAR LP
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 2017-08-22
(86) PCT Filing Date: 2009-07-10
(87) Open to Public Inspection: 2010-01-14
Examination requested: 2014-06-20
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): Yes
(86) PCT Filing Number: PCT/US2009/004024
(87) International Publication Number: WO2010/005587
(85) National Entry: 2011-01-07

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
61/134,669 United States of America 2008-07-11
12/501,238 United States of America 2009-07-10

Abstracts

English Abstract



The present inventors devised, among other
things, systems, methods, and software that allow users to readily
access online legal research tools, while using other applications,
such as word processors. One exemplary computer-implemented
system provide an add-on software framework that integrates into
a host word-processing application on a client access device. The
add-on software framework allows users to select from an
ex-pandable listing of one or more web applications on a web
serv-er, with each of the web application capable of controlling
opera-tion of the host word processing application. The web
applica-tions facilitate extraction and access to information from the
in-formation-retrieval services and incorporation of the information
in the document or in metadata associated with the document.




French Abstract

La présente invention concerne, entre autres choses, des systèmes, des procédés et un logiciel qui permettent à des utilisateurs d'accéder facilement en ligne à des outils de recherche légaux, tout en utilisant d'autres applications, telles que des traitements de texte. Un système mis en uvre sur un ordinateur, donné à titre dexemple, fournit une plateforme logicielle complémentaire qui s'intègre dans une application de traitement de texte hôte sur un dispositif d'accès client. La plateforme logicielle complémentaire permet à des utilisateurs d'effectuer une sélection dans une liste extensible d'une ou de plusieurs applications Web sur un serveur Web, chacune des applications Web étant capable de commander le fonctionnement de l'application de traitement de texte hôte. Les applications Web facilitent lextraction et laccès à des informations des services de récupération d'informations et lincorporation des informations dans le document ou dans des métadonnées associées au document.

Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method of controlling client applications, the method comprising:
generating on a client access device a graphical user interface of a word
processing application integrated with an add-on framework, the graphical user

interface including a document opened by the word processing application, the
document being associated with one or more document context indicators derived

from text of the document, the context indicators comprising at least a legal
document type, jurisdiction and goveming law, the add-on framework including a

plurality of user-interface elements associated with a plurality of web
applications,
the web applications based on the document context indicators;
receiving a user selection of a web application stored on a web server from a
user via the add-on framework;
initiating the web application of the web server via the add-on framework of
the client access device in accordance with the user selection;
receiving a call to an application program interface of the add-on framework
from the web application using a script execution engine of the add-on
framework
to at least one of access and modify content of the document that is opened by
the
word processing application; and
calling from the add-on framework an exposed method of the word
processing application that corresponds to the call to the application program

interface to at least one of access and modify the content of the document
opened by
the word processing application.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating the web application comprises:
launching the word processing application on the client access device to
open the document in a first portion of the graphical user interface
associated with
the word processing application; and
loading the add-on framework in a second portion of the graphical user
interface to display the plurality of user-interface elements associated with
the
plurality of web applications stored on the web server that correspond to the
plurality of user-interface elements.
22

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving a user selection of a web
application comprises receiving a user selection of a user-interface element
associated with the web application via the add-on framework.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein loading the add-on framework further
comprises:
executing a web browser application in the second portion of the graphical
user interface; and
navigating the web browser to a web page provided by the web server that
lists the plurality of user-interface elements associated with the plurality
of web
applications.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving a user selection of a web
application further comprises receiving a user selection of a user-interface
element
associated with the web application via the web page of the add-on framework.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises executing an

execution engine in the add-on framework to execute the application program
interface in response to a call to the application program interface from the
web
application.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises managing a
mapping in the add-on framework between the application program interface and
the exposed application method of the word processing application.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the call to the application program
interface
includes at least one call comprising:
extracting information from the document; and
enhancing the document based on the extracted information.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein enhancing the document comprises at least

one of adding relevant content to the document and validating citations found
in the
document.
23

10. A system to control client applications, the system comprising:
a web server including a memory that stores a plurality of web applications;
and
a client access device including a processor and a memory that stores
instructions which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to
perform
operations comprising:
generating a graphical user interface of a word processing application
integrated with an add-on framework, the graphical user interface including a
document opened by the word processing application, the document being
associated with one or more document context indicators derived from text of
the
document, the context indicators comprising a legal document type,
jurisdiction and
goveming law, the add-on framework including a plurality of user-interface
elements associated with a plurality of web applications, the web applications
based
on the document context indicators;
receiving a user selection of a web application from a user via the add-on
framework;
initiating the web application of the web server via the add-on framework in
accordance with the user selection;
receiving a call to an application program interface of the add-on framework
from the web application using a script execution engine of the add-on
framework
to at least one of access and modify the content of the document that is
opened by
the word processing application; and
calling from the add-on framework an exposed application method of the
word processing application that corresponds with the call to the application
program interface to at least one of access and modify the content of the
document
opened by the word processing application.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein operations further comprise:
launching the word processing application to open the document in a first
portion of the graphical user interface associated with the word processing
application; and
loading the add-on framework in a second portion of the graphical user
interface associated with the plurality of web applications stored on the web
server
that correspond to the plurality of user-interface elements.
24

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise
initiating
the web application in response to receiving a user selection of a user-
interface
element with the web application via the add-on framework.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:
executing a web browser application in the second portion of the graphical
user interface; and
navigating the web browser to a web page provided by the web server that
lists the plurality of user-interface elements associated with the plurality
of web
applications.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise
executing a
user selection of a user-interface element associated with the web application
via the
web page of the add-on framework.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise
executing
an execution engine in the add-on framework to execute the application program

interface in response to a call to the application program interface from the
web
application.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise
managing a
mapping in the add-on framework between the application program interface and
the exposed application method of the word processing application.
17 The system of claim 10, wherein the web application is configured to
process at least one legal citation within the document opened by the word
processing application.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


CA 02730207 2016-03-31
SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR
WEB-BASED CONTROL OF DESKTOP APPLICATIONS
Copyright Notice and Permission
A portion of this patent document contains material subject to copyright
protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction

by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in
the
Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves
all
copyrights whatsoever. The following notice applies to this document:
Copyright 2008, Thomson Global Resources.
Technical Field
Various embodiments of the present invention concern information-
retrieval systems, such as those that provide legal documents or other related
content, and user interfaces for such systems.
Background
Judges and lawyers within the American legal system, as well as many
others across the globe, are continually researching an ever-expanding body of
legislation and judicial opinions to assist them understanding and resolving
new
or potential disputes. To facilitate this research, companies, such as West
Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota (doing business as Thomson West),
collect legal statutes, judicial opinions, law articles, and other legal and
non-legal
materials and make these available electronically over a computer network,
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through the WestlawTm online research system. (Westlaw is a trademark licensed

to Thomson West.)
At least one problem the present inventors recognized with this powerful
system as well as other online research systems is that their valuable
functionality is highly segregated from the functionality of other computer
applications. For instance, legal researchers typically use results of their
online
legal research as part of a larger process of producing documents, such as
legal
briefs and memorandum. However, systems, such as the Westlaw system, are
typically functionally separated from popular word processing applications,
such
as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect, that are used for creating these
documents.
Although adds-ons such as West BrieffoolsTm software and West
CiteLinkTm software are available to identify, mark, verify, tabulate, link,
and/or
indicate status of legal citations in word processor documents, their
functionality
is isolated to legal citations. This means that for other types of legal
informational needs users must leave the context of the word-processing
application to execute searches via browsers or other search tools and then
cut
and paste information from their browsers or other search interfaces into the
documents. Moreover, the inventors recognized that conventional techniques for
expanding the functionality of word-processing applications using customized
add-ons requires adding fully customized software to the computer hosting the
word-processing application. This approach, however, is inefficient an
information services company, such as Thomson Reuters, wants to offer a
growing set of add-ons, such as West Brieffools and WestCiteLink software, to
its customers.
Accordingly, the present inventors have recognized at least a need for
improving functional integration of information-retrieval systems, such as
Westlaw, into other applications, such as word processors.
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Summary
To address this and/or other needs, the present inventors devised, among
other things, systems, methods, and software that allow users to readily
access
informational resources, such as an online legal research tools, while using
other
applications, such as word processors. One exemplary computer-implemented
system provide an add-on software framework that integrates into a host word-
processing application on a client access device. The add-on software
framework allows users to select from one or more web applications on a web
server, with each of the web application capable of controlling operation of
the
host word processing application (via appropriate APIs and an embedded
browser control with framework). The web applications facilitate access to
information from the information-retrieval services and incorporation of the
information in the document or in metadata associated with the document.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary document-processing and
information-retrieval system 100, which corresponds to one or more
embodiments of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a facsimile of an exemplary graphical user interface 200 which
may be incorporated into system 100 and which corresponds to one or
more embodiments of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of operating system 100, which

corresponds to one or more embodiments of the present invention.
Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments
This description, which references and incorporates the above-identified
Figures, describes one or more specific embodiments of an invention. These
embodiments, offered not to limit but only to exemplify and teach the
invention,
are shown and described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the
art to
implement or practice the invention. Thus, where appropriate to avoid
obscuring
the invention, the description may omit certain information known to those of
skill in the art.
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Overview
The exemplary method and system described provides, among other things,
software platform components that enable an application to perform several
functions without leaving the document and the host application. Essentially,
the document could become a software platform. These functions include:
= Context
o The system for example extracts key context indicators such as
document type (memo, pleading, agreement etc), jurisdiction and
governing law (Orange County, New York etc.) and stores them, for
example, in a data structure logically associated with the user and/or
the document. In some embodiments, a document identifier is also
stored to uniquely associate the document with the user. Some
embodiment store the data as metadata linked to the document; others
within subscriber data for an online legal research service (or a
professional information research service.)
= Presenting relevant content options to user, based on the context of the
document being drafted. Examples:
o Automatically extract jurisdiction, document type and title from the
document and allow searching similar content on WestLaw or
WestLaw Business.
= Extract key legal entities from the document and use them to enhance the
document by adding relevant content
o Automatically extract judge and party names, link automatically to
profiles
o Citations ¨ extract and validate, KC Flags (West BriefTools , West
km )
o Citations ¨ Advise on citation format (CiteAdvisore)
= Manage Workflow
Allow users to use predefined Litigation and Transactional workflows to track
progress
Exemplary Document-Processing and Information-Retrieval System
Figure 1 shows an exemplary document-processing and information-
retrieval system 100. Notably, the system includes at least one web server
that
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can automatically control one or more aspects of an augmented document-
processing application on a client access device. The document-processing
application, for example, the Microsoft Word application, is augmented with an

add-on framework that integrates into the graphical user interface of the
application and includes a browser control that can access one or more web-
based applications and allow macro-type scripts of the web-based applications
or
services control the document processing application. System 100 includes one
or more databases 110, one or more servers 120, and one or more access devices

130.
Exemplary Databases
Databases 110 includes a set of primary databases 112 and a set of
second databases 114. Primary databases 112, in the exemplary embodiment,
include a caselaw database 1121 and a statutes databases 1122, which
respectively include judicial opinions and statutes from one or more local,
state,
federal, and/or international jurisdictions. Secondary databases 114, provide
attorney, judge, law firm, product, and corporate profiles. Each corporate
profiles include one or more industry classification codes or indicators. In
some
embodiments, the caselaw documents are logically associated via a data
structure
with documents or profiles in databases 114. Other embodiments may include
non-legal databases that include financial, scientific, or health-care
information.
Still other embodiments provide public or private databases, such as those
made
available through WESTLAW, INFOTRAC, and more generally any open web
or Internet content.
Databases 110, which take the exemplary form of one or more electronic,
magnetic, or optical data-storage devices, include or are otherwise associated

with respective indices (not shown). Each of the indices includes terms and
phrases in association with corresponding document addresses, identifiers, and

other conventional information. Databases 110 are coupled or coupla.ble via a
wireless or wireline communications network, such as a local-, wide-, private-
,
or virtual-private network, to server 120.
Exemplary Server
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Server 120, which is generally representative of one or more servers for
serving data in the form of webpages or other markup language forms with
associated applets, ActiveX controls, remote-invocation objects, or other
related
software and data structures to service clients of various "thicknesses." More
particularly, server 120 includes a processor module 121, a memory module 122,
a subscriber database 123, a primary search module 124, a secondary search
module 125, and an information-integration-tools framework module 126.
Processor module 121 includes one or more local or distributed
processors, controllers, or virtual machines. In the exemplary embodiment,
processor module 121 assumes any convenient or desirable form.
Memory module 122, which takes the exemplary form of one or more
electronic, magnetic, or optical data-storage devices, stores subscriber
database
123, search module 124, secondary search module 125, and information-
integration -tools module 126.
Subscriber database 123 includes subscriber-related data for controlling,
administering, and managing pay-as-you-go or subscription-based access of
databases 110. In the exemplary embodiment, subscriber database 123 includes
one or more preference data structures, of which data structure 1231 is
representative. Data structure 1221 includes a customer or user identifier
portion
1231A, which is logically associated with one or more operational,
configuration, or usage preferences for one or more of modules 124, 125, or
126,
such as preferences 1231B, 1231C, and 1231D.
Preference 1231B includes a default value governing whether document-
processing tools are enabled or disabled for the associated user or customer.
Preference 1231C includes a default value governing whether document
metadata is stored in the subscriber database or locally with a user document.

Preference 1231D includes default values governing one or more other aspects
of usage or operation or configuration of the information-integration tools
within
module 126. For example, preference 1231D may include information defining
one or more workflow sequences or templates. These sequences or templates
may be defined by and/or purchased separately by the user or user's law firm
or
more generally employer. (In the absence of a temporary user override, for
example, an override during a particular query or session, the default value
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governs.) In some embodiments, preference data may be stored locally on a
user's access device in a local copy of one or more information-integration
tools.
Some embodiments store document context data that is extracted and/or derived
from extracted document information. Examples include jurisdiction
information, document type, document title, key legal entities from the
document, judge and party names. In some instances, these are stored in
association with a document ID, which may be defined by a user's local
document management system. Other data stored in association with the user ID
may include workflow progress information or indicators, attorney docket
numbers, temporal usage indicators, such as session lengths, for billing
purposes.
Primary search module 124 includes one or more search engines and
related user- interface components, for receiving and processing user queries
against one or more of databases 110. In the exemplary embodiment, one or
more search engines associated with search module 124 provide Boolean, tf-idf,
natural-language search capabilities.
Secondary module 125 includes one or more search engines for receiving
and processing queries against one or more of databases 114. Some
embodiments charge a separate or additional fee for searching and/or accessing

documents from the secondary databases.
Information-integration-tools framework module 126 (or software
framework or platform) includes machine readable and/or executable instruction

sets for wholly or partly defining software and related user interfaces having
one
or more portions thereof that integrate or cooperate with one or more document-

processing applications. Exemplary document-processing (or document-
authoring or -editing) applications include word-processing applications,
email
applications, presentation applications, and spreadsheet applications. (More
about the module 126 is described below.) In the exemplary embodiment, these
applications would be hosted on one or more accesses devices, such as access
device 130.
Exemplary Access Device
Access device 130 is generally representative of one or more access
devices. In the exemplary embodiment, access device 130 takes the form of a
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personal computer, workstation, personal digital assistant, mobile telephone,
or
any other device capable of providing an effective user interface with a
server or
database. Specifically, access device 130 includes a processor module 131one
or
more processors (or processing circuits) 131, a memory 132, a display 133, a
keyboard 134, and a graphical pointer or selector 135.
Processor module 131 includes one or more processors, processing
circuits, or controllers. In the exemplary embodiment, processor module 131
takes any convenient or desirable form. Coupled to processor module 131 is
memory 132.
Memory 132 stores code (machine-readable or executable instructions)
for an operating system 136, a browser 137, document processing software 138.
(In the exemplary embodiment, memory 132 also includes document
management software and time and billing system software not shown in the
Figure 1. In some embodiments, this software may be hosted on a separate
server.)
In the exemplary embodiment, operating system 136 takes the form of a version
of the Microsoft Windows operating system, and browser 137 takes the form of
a version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Operating system 136 and browser
137 not only receive inputs from keyboard 134 and selector 135, but also
support
rendering of graphical user interfaces on display 133. In the exemplary
embodiment, document processing software 138 includes Microsoft Word word
processing software, Powerpoint presentation software, Excel spreadsheet
software, and Outlook email software. Document processing software is shown
integrated with information-integration tools 1381, which are downloaded from
server 120 via a wired or wireless communication link. Upon launching of the
document processing software an integrated document-processing and
information-retrieval graphical-user interface 139 is defined in memory 132
and
rendered on display 133.
Upon rendering, interface 139 presents data in association with one or more
interactive control features (or user-interface elements). In the exemplary
embodiment, each of these control features takes the form of a hyperlink or
other
browser-compatible command input. User selection of some control features
results in retrieval and display of at least a portion of the corresponding
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document within a region of interface 138 (not shown in this figure.) Although

Figure 1 shows regions as being simultaneously displayed, some embodiments
present them at separate times.
More particularly, interface 139 includes document-processing tool bar
region 1391, document-processing (editing and display) region 1392, and
integrated information regions 1393. In the exemplary embodiment, region 1393
includes control and display elements for external content and services, such
as a
listing of one, two, or more web apps (or locally supported apps) provided by
server 120 and databases 110, specifically the web apps and framework
components of module 126. Region 1393 includes control and display elements
for metadata content related to completing a task related to authoring a
document
loaded into document-processing (active editing) window 1392. For example,
region1393 may list contact data regarding all persons, such as law-firm and
client personnel, opposing legal counsel and court personnel, and witnesses
associated with a legal case for which the loaded document is being prepared.
In
some embodiments, region 1393 includes specific workflow information and
control elements related to the user who launched the document-processing
application and/or generic workflow information accessible via the user. In
some embodiment, the user may select a workflow step or task within region
1393 and initiate update of the content or available tools and services of
module
126.
Also, in the exemplary embodiment, the information integration tools
include local desktop tools, such as BriefTools, CiteLink, DealProof,
LiveNote,
local server tools and services, such as West km knowledge management system,
ES, and Elite accounting, and remote tools and services, such as KeyCite and
other Thomson or third party tools and services. These tools are made
available
through an exemplary software platform or framework of module 126, one or
more portions of which are downloaded and installed as an add-on or add-in
framework and set of associated APIs to host application 138. Figure 2 shows
another exemplary embodiment of interface 139, as interface 200.
In the exemplary embodiment the framework generally allows for
building applications that operate in a user desktop workflow scenario. The
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exemplary framework or platform can be broken down into the following layers
or silos:
Hooks: Mechanism in the host application, such as a toolbar button in
MS Word word-processing application to invoke the container
Container: The area, such as a command bar object in MS Word
application, where the feature applications are hosted.
Applications: Feature applications that support a specific set of features
Service Blocks: Infrastructure pieces that feature applications can
leverage
Hooks
A hook, in the exemplary embodiment, is designed as a mechanism for
users to open the container from a host application. The hook loads itself
inside
that host application and then loads the container. A hook also introduces a
uniform way to see the content. The hook, through the use of application
programming interfaces (APIs), provides a way to get at, extract, and/or
insert
data of the particular opened document within the host application. A host
application could be any Microsoft desktop application, WordPerfect , Adobe
Professional , or a web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, FireFox,
etc.). For example, the host application is Microsoft Word. The exemplary
embodiment provides single add-in for all supported Word versions. One way of
achieving this support is to add an abstraction layer based on the use of
reflection into the version specific library to allow the same code to work
for all
versions of Word. The abstraction layer is based on the most recent version,
and falls back on earlier supported method calls if needed. It also fails
gracefully when the functionality is missing in the Word version.
Additionally,
the layer implements changes to add-in to determine the correct version
specific
library to load and all method calls to Word object model using reflection.
For host application integration of the software platform, many interfaces
provide support for including a hook that assists the host application to
provide
the user interface (UI) real-estate for the container as well as providing the
integration mechanism itself. The UI real-estate is an area on the screen set
aside for the container and a toolbar button. The host application is
responsible
for creating this space and creating an instance of Forms.DynamicContainer.

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Generally a window is created as the parent of the DynamicContainer.
Additionally, the host is responsible for providing the ability to resize the
area
for the DynamicContainer.
The software platform is a managed .Net product so the CLR needs to be
loaded into the host process. Currently the software platform provides some
support and help for creating unmanaged host integrations using C++/COM.
From a COM based language, the CLRLoader can be used to load the CLR into
process, and invoke a designated managed class in a separate assembly to
bridge
into managed code and the rest of the add-in implementation. The CLRLoader
is a COM object that can be created using standard COM methods
(CoCreateInstance() etc). It provides an interface that starts the CLR, and
can
load a managed class from an assembly with information provided in a
configuration file. The managed class that is created by the CLRLoader must be

given the HostShim Attribute and the user must define a method called
"Configure" that returns a void and has a single "object" parameter. The
software platform host application should implement the interface.
Additionally,
all the interfaces defined in the project, file document.cs are implemented on
a
set of classes to provide access to the document content of the host
application.
Container
In some exemplary embodiments, the container is designed to host
feature application features and functions. However, some embodiments host
the feature application itself Hosted within the container is a browser
control or
mini embedded browser. The browser control does application user interface
(UI) rendering and script execution. An exemplary browser control is Internet
Explorer but any web browser or equivalent would be acceptable as well. UI
rendering refers to displaying the user interface of the feature application
within
the container. The feature application UI's are developed using html and CSS
but some embodiments use other browser based technologies, such as ASP.Net
pages, Silverlight applications, Adobe Flash applications, etc). Much of the
functionality of the feature applications is implemented in the JavaScript
programming language. Embedded in the browser control is a JavaScript
execution engine that reads the script and performs the requested operations
defined in the JavaScript program.
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Feature Applications
Feature applications are designed with intent of reusing the software
platform and functionality. They are developed independently but may be
dependent on the software platform components. For example, one app inserts
and updates flags. Assuming the software platform already has a
communication service block and diagnostics service block (service blocks
described in further detail below), the communication service block could be
used to gather flag information and the diagnostics service block could be
used
to add tracing and logging into the application as well as add exception
handling
into the application.
Another example feature application provides linking to referenced
documents. This feature application relies on Office Integration to provide a
handle to the document in focus within Word. The application should also
include the ability to select referenced documents for analysis. An assuming
once again a diagnostics service block exists with the software platform, the
diagnostics service block could be used to add tracing and logging into the
application as well as add exception handling into the application.
There are a wide variety of ways to develop an application that can be
hosted within the software platform container. At a minimum in the exemplary
embodiment, the user needs to provide an XML feature file that informs the
software platform where the HTML page for the UI resides and the HTML UI
itself. The Features XML file is a simple XML document that contains the URL
for the main UI for a given feature/application. It consists of a root element
`"', a
single child element " whose content is the URL of the HTML User Interface of
the application. This features XML file is deployed to the users desktop. The
UI
can take the form of a static HTML page or other web application language. The

inclusion of a script tag for the inject.cs script file facilitates access to
the
desktop injected items of the Host and ServiceLocator. The ServiceLocator is
used to create instances of other Desktop Services by name. The UI location is
constrained by the container, and thus influences design of the UI.
If the application needs to access content from within the software
platform host application, the exemplary embodiment references the two
JavaScript files (inject.cs and Load.cs) that are a part of the software
platform
main web package. JavaScript interacts with the desktop services provided.
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This gives access to a JavaScript reference to the "host" object as well as
the
"locator" ServiceLocator object. Finally, if the application provides a
desktop
service, the service implementation (See Software Platform Exemplary Service
Practices section) is provided in an installable package.
Service Blocks
Feature applications call service blocks which are designed with the
intent of reusability and expose the services of those feature applications.
In
other words, the purpose of service blocks is to supply local reusable
components to a feature application. The functionality can be accessed via
JavaScript and/or by referencing the necessary .net assemblies. Examples of
application building platform components that can be leveraged are listed:
Application Activation
= Basic licensing, Trial periods, Expiration
= Developed from existing Deal Proof licensing
= Note limitations
Citation Recognition and Validation
= Ability to make a request to the KeyCite flag web service using the
Communications service block
= Validation into Citation Recognition
Common UI Widgets
= Message box function to display messages
= Message
= Ok button
= Cancel button
= Dialog box to retrieve user input
= Progress meters ¨ on the container and via popup dialog
= Browser window
= Resizing the container
= Feature Activate/Deactivate events
= Westlaw Password persistence
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Communications Expose service object to do HTTP based requests
= Implement basic HTTP request
= Implements automatic Proxy discovery and configuration
= Implements async support
= Connectivity ¨ Ping Westlaw.com
= Centralize web requests ¨ application is responsible for reading the
response
= Brieffools SOAP service wrapper
Discovery
= Create Feature XML generation scheme for local and online features
= Implement Service XML generator.
= Integrate generators into Development environment and build
procedure.
= Automatic detection for new applications (feature xml)
= Infrastructure to automatically detect when new service blocks are
available
= Applications can share functionality
Enterprise Library Application Blocks
= Add references to Enterprise Library application blocks
= Create service block wrappers for the following Enterprise Library
application blocks:
= Caching Application Block
= Cryptography Application Block
= Data Access Application Block
= Exception Handling Application Block
= Logging Application Block
= Policy Injection Application Block
= Security Application Block
= Validation Application Block
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Office Integration
= Provide a mechanism to retrieve the document in focus
Usage Tracking
= Support for usage tracking
In the exemplary embodiment, developing a service exposed to the
software platform-based feature applications entails the following:
1. Inherit the class from MarshalByRefObject.
2. Define a static factory method on the class that a user wants to expose.
The return value should be of the Type that the user is going to create or
else "object". Preferably, it does not take any parameters.
3. Apply the service attribute to the aforementioned static factory method.
4. During deployment, the service must be registered with the software
platform service locator. This is accomplished by running the
asmcfg.exe commandline utility with the ¨s option.
The interface in some embodiments can be implemented to reduce or
minimize the number of calls into or out of the object because each service is

configured to run in its own AppDomain which means that all calls into and out

of the service incur the overhead of a cross AppDomain call.

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Installation and Updating of Software Platform
One way for the user to deploy a software platform is to access a
download site containing a base package for an application that includes a
software platform built on a .NET framework and COM technology, a feature
application, and, optionally, an updater. The user downloads this package and
deploys the software platform along with the feature application and possibly
the
updater. Another option is to download and deploy the individual components
separately in install order of the .NET framework, software platform, a
feature
application. The updater can be installed anytime after the software platform
is
installed. In the exemplary embodiment, the updater and the software platform
are independent of each other.
Software Distribution Update
There are five exemplary methods for how to update the software
distribution:
1. Direct from the provider's software platform server (on-site distribution
server)¨ Updater directly
2. From remote provider's server (remote distribution server located within
user's firewall) ¨ Updater directly
3. Test Lab ¨ User manually kicks off update process direct from provider
server (on-site distribution server). User snapshots the changes to create
his/her own installation package.
4. Manually get a copy of the software to install on a test workstation.
Once
o.k. on the test or base image, it is pushed out via SMS or another
distribution package.
5. User wants the list of changed and files for the update and creates his/her

SMS package from the documentation.
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Help Function
The online help for the software platform is hosted on a web based
help/knowledgebase platform that does not require software to be installed on
users' desktops (it does require users to have an Internet connection). An
exemplary help/knowledgebase platform is the Talisma platform. Both the
software platform container and products within the container have at least
one
Help link. Besides Help, no other end-user documentation specific to the
container is needed. Associated installation tasks are covered in the
documentation that is specific to products within the container.
When the container Help link is clicked, help content related to the
container is accessible in a container help system. For example, when the
Container Help link is clicked, users see "Using the Container" help content
in
the container help system. Additionally, product-specific help content could
be
provided as well.
Because the container functionality usually does not change substantially
from version to version from a user perspective, the help system displays
content
for the latest version. However, the container help system could be versioned
to
account for different versions of the container that may be installed. A team
might host the online Help for the software platform in the
help/lcnowledgebase
system so that it integrates with other Help systems for applications that are
added to the container (e.g., Deal Proof , WestCheck , CiteAdvisor ,
BriefTools8).
When a product Help link is clicked, the help content for that product is
accessible. In addition, the container help content is also accessible within
the
product help system. For example, when a Deal Proof Help link is clicked,
users see both "Using Deal Proof' help content and "Using the Container" help
content in the Deal Proof help system.
Exemplary Method(s)
Figure 2 shows a flow chart 200 of one or more exemplary methods of
operating a system, such as system 100. Flow chart 200 includes blocks 210-
250, which are arranged and described in a serial execution sequence in the
exemplary embodiment. However, other embodiments execute two or more
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blocks in parallel using multiple processors or processor-like devices or a
single
processor organized as two or more virtual machines or sub processors. Other
embodiments also alter the process sequence or provide different functional
partitions to achieve analogous results. For example, some embodiments may
alter the client-server allocation of functions, such that functions shown and
described on the server side are implemented in whole or in part on the client

side, and vice versa. Moreover, still other embodiments implement the blocks
as
two or more interconnected hardware modules with related control and data
signals communicated between and through the modules. Thus, the exemplary
process flow applies to software, hardware, and firmware implementations.
Block 310 entails installing an add-on framework and one or more tools
or APIs on server 120 onto one or more client devices. In the exemplary
embodiment, this entails a user directing a browser in a client access device,

such as access device 130, to internet-protocol (IP) address for an online
information-retrieval system, such as the Westlaw system and then logging onto
the system using a username and/or password. Successful login results in a web-

based interface being output from server 120, stored in memory 132, and
displayed by client access device 130.
The interface includes an option for initiating download of information
integration software with corresponding toolbar plug-ins for one or more
applications. If the download option is initiated, download administration
software ensures that the client access device is compatible with the
information
integration software and detects which document-processing applications on the

access device are compatible with the information integration software. With
user approval, the appropriate software is downloaded and installed on the
client
device. Execution continues at block 320.
Block 320 entails presenting an online tools interface to a user in context
with a document-processing application. In the exemplary embodiment, this
entails a user launching and opening or creating a document using one or more
of the following independent applications: Microsoft Word word processing
application, Corel WordPerfect word processing application, Internet Explorer
browser application, Adobe Acrobat desktop publishing application, and
Microsoft Outlook email application. Add-on software for one or more of these
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applications is simultaneous invoked, which in turn results in presentation of
the
add-on menu, for example as shown in Figure 2. The add-on menu includes a
listing of web services or application and/or locally hosted tools or
services.
Block 330 entails receiving a selection from a user via the tools interface.
In the exemplary embodiment this selection is made manually via a pointing
device. Execution continues at block 240.
Block 240 entails executing the selected tool, or more precisely its
associated instructions. In the exemplary embodiment, this entails
communicating with corresponding instructions or web application on server
120, which in turn may provide dynamic scripting and control of the host word-
processing application using one or more APIs stored on the host application
as
part of the add-on framework.
An alternative or supplementary process flow follows, wherein WSF denote
the framework:
1. The user launches the host application (i.e. Microsoft Word,
WordPerfect, etc.) to work on a document.
2. The WSF is loaded as an Add-in to the host application.
a. This will load the WSF Document API, the WSF Application
Container, initialize the installed Application List, and create the
UI elements (Ribbons, toolbars, menu items, etc.)
3. The user opens a document and selects the desired WSF Application
from a list of applications presented in region 1393 (Figure 1) via the
integrated UI elements.
a. WSF displays the application within the WSF Container (region
1393)
i. WSF navigates the embedded browser to the applications
base URL (server 120, appropriate portion of module 126)
1. If the application changes, a new/upgrade install
may or may not be required
2. WSF applications can be installed and run as:
a. Local HTA (i.e. locally installed HTML,
JS, CSS, etc.)
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b. Enterprise web application (intranet or
extranet)
c. Internet web application
ii. WSF injects the WSF Document API references into the
JavaScript execution engine for access from the
applications JavaScript
b. The document in display (active edit window of host
application,
such as word-processing application) preserves the context of the
application in WSF (i.e. each document has its own instance of
WSF which can be customized based on user preferences)
4. The WSF JavaScript execution engine to allow the application code to
run.
5. The application can use the WSF API's to access the contents of the
opened host (i.e. Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, etc.) Document,
including modifications to these documents.
a. The WSF API's exposed to the client include but are not limited
to:
i. The collection of Open Documents, including API
methods for accessing Document specific data.
ii. The collections of Paragraphs, Footnotes, Endnotes,
Tables of Authority, hyperlinks, images and many other
document content objects within a specific open
document.
iii. The ability to create a Location object to represent a given
textual location within the document.
b. The WSF API methods that are called by the application in turn
will call methods exposed by the Host application (ex. Microsoft
Word). The manner in which these calls are done is Host
application specific and dependent on facilities exposed by the
Host application. The WSF manages the mappings between its
own API and the functionality exposed by the Host.
c. Additionally, the application can use native browser capabilities
and other WSF functionality to communicate with web services

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available locally on the host machine, at enterprise (intranet or
extranet), or the over the internet.
Conclusion
The embodiments described above are intended only to illustrate and
teach one or more ways of practicing or implementing the present invention,
not
to restrict its breadth or scope. The actual scope of the invention, which
embraces all ways of practicing or implementing the teachings of the
invention,
is defined only by the following claims and their equivalents.
21

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

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Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date 2017-08-22
(86) PCT Filing Date 2009-07-10
(87) PCT Publication Date 2010-01-14
(85) National Entry 2011-01-07
Examination Requested 2014-06-20
(45) Issued 2017-08-22

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

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Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $400.00 2011-01-07
Registration of a document - section 124 $100.00 2011-04-20
Registration of a document - section 124 $100.00 2011-04-20
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 2 2011-07-11 $100.00 2011-06-29
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 3 2012-07-10 $100.00 2012-06-29
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 4 2013-07-10 $100.00 2013-06-18
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 5 2014-07-10 $200.00 2014-06-17
Request for Examination $800.00 2014-06-20
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 6 2015-07-10 $200.00 2015-06-18
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 7 2016-07-11 $200.00 2016-06-22
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 8 2017-07-10 $200.00 2017-06-15
Final Fee $300.00 2017-07-14
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 9 2018-07-10 $200.00 2018-06-15
Registration of a document - section 124 $100.00 2018-09-17
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 10 2019-07-10 $250.00 2019-06-20
Registration of a document - section 124 $100.00 2020-04-20
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 11 2020-07-10 $250.00 2020-06-17
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 12 2021-07-12 $255.00 2021-06-16
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 13 2022-07-11 $254.49 2022-05-18
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 14 2023-07-10 $263.14 2023-05-17
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
THOMSON REUTERS ENTERPRISE CENTRE GMBH
Past Owners on Record
THOMSON REUTERS GLOBAL RESOURCES
THOMSON REUTERS GLOBAL RESOURCES UNLIMITED COMPANY
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
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